Diageo was formed in 1997 from the merger ofGuinness plc and the hospitality and distribution conglomerateGrand Metropolitan plc.[6] The company was created by executives Anthony Greener andPhilip Yea at Guinness, along with George Bull and John McGrath of Grand Metropolitan.[7] Shares in Diageo began trading on the London Stock Exchange on 17 December 1997.[8]
The name Diageo was created by branding consultancyWolff Olins in 1997.[9] It derives from theLatin worddiēs, meaning "day", and theGreek rootgeo-, meaning "earth".[10]
As a legacy of the merger, Diageo owned a number of brands, businesses, and assets which were not in the core alcoholic drinks category. The company gradually disposed of these assets to focus on beverages as its core business.[11][12] This included the sale of thePillsbury Company toGeneral Mills in July 2000,[13] and the sale of theBurger King fast food restaurant chain to a consortium led by US firm Texas Pacific for US$1.5 billion in December 2002.[14]
Diageo, acting in joint venture with the French drinks groupPernod Ricard, bought the Canadian businessSeagram in May 2001; to secure regulatory approval it had to sellMalibu rum toAllied Domecq for £560m ($800m) in February 2002.[15][16] The company further acquired Turkish liquor company Mey Icki for US$2.1 billion in February 2011,[17][18] and followed this with Braziliancachaça manufacturerYpióca for £300 million in May 2012,[19] and a majority stake in the Indian companyUnited Spirits for £1.28 billion in November 2012.[20][21] It bought the Chinesebaijiu manufacturer Sichuan Shuijingfang Company in China in July 2013.[22]
The predecessor company Grand Metropolitan had been a major owner of hotels, owning what is nowIntercontinental Hotels prior to divestment before merging into Diageo,[23] but the company still owned theGleneagles Hotel inPerthshire, which had hosted events including theRyder Cup andG8 summit. In July 2015 Diageo reached an agreement to sell the hotel to the Ennismore Group, already owners ofThe Hoxton hotels.[24]
In October 2015, the company made major sales in both the beer and wine categories, selling theRed Stripe beer brand, along with interests in other breweries, and the rights to Guinness in some territories toHeineken,[29][30] as well as the sale of most of its wine business toTreasury Wine Estates.[31] The separate 2019 sale of the remaining wine brands including Navarro Correas andChalone Vineyard saw Diageo exit the category.[32]
In March 2024, the company reopenedPort Ellen distillery after it had been closed for 40 years[35] and, in September 2024, it acquired Ritual Zero Proof, a non-alcoholic spirits brand.[36] It formed the Diageo Luxury Group in November 2024,[37] soldCacique rum toLa Martiniquaise in January 2025,[38] and transferred majority ownership ofCîroc in North America to Main Street Advisors in June 2025.[39]
Diageo operates many whisky distilleries in Scotland and around the world.[40] Other than the in-house brands, Diageo also owns a 34% stake in the Moet Hennessy drinks division of French luxury goods companyLVMH.[41] Diageo operates across Europe, North America, Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia–Pacific and Africa.[42]
In June 2023, the company's subsidiary,Mortlach distillery inMoray,Scotland, was awarded the "Whisky of the Year" prize in the annual International Whisky Competition for its Gordon & MacPhail Connoisseurs Choice 1989 Mortlach single malt Scotch.[60]
In July 2009, Diageo announced that it would be closing theJohnnie Walker blending and bottling plant atKilmarnock in Scotland[63] as part of a restructuring to the business, with work moved to Diageo's other two sites inShieldhall andLeven.[64] It would make 700 workers unemployed and attracted criticism from the press, local people, and politicians. A campaign against the decision was launched by the localSNP MSPWillie Coffey andLabour MPDes Browne. A petition was drawn up against the plans, which also involved the closure of the historicPort Dundas grain distillery in Glasgow.[65] The Johnnie Walker plant in Kilmarnock closed its doors in March 2012 and the buildings were subsequently demolished a year later.[66]
In March 2015, Diageo released an advertising campaign showing a young woman crying after a night out, as an older woman, likely her mother, looks at her from the doorway, and the caption, "Who's following in your footsteps? Out of control drinking has consequences". The ad probably implied that the girl had been assaulted on the way home, as a result of her drinking that night. The director of Rape Crisis Network Ireland said Diageo "blames victims of sexual violence for the crimes that have been committed against them. This is a harmful, regressive and hurtful message which targets the vulnerable."[67]
In September 2025,Doug Ford, thePremier of Ontario, staged a protest against Diageo’s decision to close theCrown Royal whisky bottling plant inAmherstburg and move operations to the United States.[68] The company announced plans to close the plant by February 2026, which will result in 180 jobs lost. At a press conference, Ford emptied a bottle of Crown Royal onto the ground, called the company’s decision, “dumb as a bag of hammers,” and vowed to retaliate—given that the provincial purchase of Diageo products tops C$740 million annually. He urged Ontarians to support locally produced whisky instead, accusing Diageo of disrespecting workers and failing to consult the union. Diageo defended the move as a necessary shift in its North American supply chain, while affirming that blending and bottling of Crown Royal will remain at Canadian facilities in the future.[69][70]
In August 2011, Diageo agreed to pay more than US$16 million to settle U.S. civil regulatory charges that it made improper payments to foreign officials. Regulators accused the British company of violating the U.S.Foreign Corrupt Practices Act through its subsidiaries to obtain lucrative sales and tax benefits for its Johnnie Walker and Windsor Scotch whiskies and other brands.[71]
In January 2020, Diageo agreed to pay US$5 million to settle charges brought by the USSecurities and Exchange Commission that alleged the company had pressured distributors to buy products in excess of demand in order to hit performance goals.[72][73]
Diageo operates DRINKiQ, a responsible drinking website available at www.drinkiq.com providing information about alcohol consumption.[74]
In 2016, Diageo was ranked 11th out of 4,255 companies worldwide for diversity and inclusiveness in the Thomson Reuters Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) Index.[75]
The company's ESG action plan, Spirit of Progress, includes targets such as reaching one billion people with messages of moderation by 2030 and educating 10 million young people about the dangers of underage drinking through its SMASHED partnership.[77]
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US$20.269 billion (2024)[1]
US$6.001 billion (2024)[1]
